CSOs to government: Focus on food security, healthcare to save people from COVID-19 crisis

Kampala , Uganda | Julius Businge | Civil Society Organizations are urging the government to focus on issues related to food insecurity, and weak healthcare system as it takes steps to ensure immediate relief and long term recovery during and post-Covid-19 era. 

The CSOs include SEATINI Uganda, Oxfam, Federation for Small and Medium Enterprises and Uganda Small Scale Industry Association. 

They made this call at a press conference held at SEATINI offices at the beginning of this week.

They also said that the interventions should address the long standing structural challenges and interrelated crises of inequalities and vulnerabilities.

Joanita Nassuna, the program assistant for Women and Economic Justice at SEATINI, said Uganda Development Corporation should prioritize investment in zonal common user facilities, rather than establishing processing facilities to support start-up micro small and medium enterprises in agro-processing and value addition. 

“Common user facilities will reduce on the cost of doing business as they are certified and will build capacity of the informal traders in meeting standards,” Nassuna said. 

She added that the government should also subsidize the cost of food grade machinery and packaging materials such as glass and boxes to enable businesses meet quality both at processing and post-processing stages. 

“Most importantly a special fund to support small and medium businesses in meeting the cost of product certification should be set aside,” she added. 

The CSOs added in a joint statement that the COVID-19 stimulus package which has reportedly been ‘mismanaged’ by some government handlers should be redesigned and presented in a way that benefits businesses that are critical in supporting the economy to recover.  

For instance, they said, government should revise downwards the minimum sum set at Shs100m for beneficiaries to allow more companies to apply and revamp their enterprises. 

Interest rates of between 10-12% too should be reduced to make it more affordable for beneficiaries to acquire loans and repay. 

That Uganda Development Bank should periodically publish the list of beneficiaries as part of accountability process before the public. 

UDB should also negotiate the terms and conditions for loans with manufacturers under their umbrella body instead of dealing with individuals. 

The other suggestion from CSOs is that the International Monetary Fund should not stop at disbursing loans to developing countries like Uganda but should be able to hold government to account to its commitments when requesting for the stimulus package. 

Proper handling of the stimulus package is key in furthering recovery of the economy that has been hit hard by COVID-19 pandemic restrictions, analysts say. 

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